Warriors’ Klay Thompson, Heat’s Chris Bosh Named Players Of The Week

Klay Thompson and Chris Bosh are playing under heightened expectations in 2014-2015. After scoring a four-year, max-level extension on Friday, the 24 year-old Golden State Warriors sharpshooter is charged with playing like one of the best wings in basketball. And no longer in the shadow of LeBron James, the All-Star lefty must resume the alpha dog status he sacrificed four years ago for the Miami Heat to remain an Eastern Conference contender. If their play in the first few games of the regular season is any indication, Thompson and Bosh won’t have any trouble living in brighter spotlights. The pair were named Players of the Week in their respective conferences after leading the Warriors and Heat to undefeated records.

Thompson has been the story of the young season so far. After dropping a dazzling 41 points on 18 shots against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Golden State’s second Splash Brother put an exclamation on his week by hitting the go ahead-basket in his team’s road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He also did this, too:

Thompson is leading the league in scoring at 29.7 points per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. At 3-0, the Warriors are one of three Western Conference teams with an unblemished record.

Bosh’s numbers are just as impressive as Thompson’s, and his overall impact looms even larger. Showing offensive skills and overall aggression that belies his former role as floor-stretching, pick-and-roll thwarting big man, Miami’s southpaw center is off to a brilliant start. Bosh has helped the Heat to the league’s second best offensive rating via all-court playmaking while snatching rebounds at a rate of his Toronto Raptors prime. How many interior stars in basketball can make this play?

Bosh is averaging 25.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, guiding revamped Miami to a perfect 3-0 record – the only undefeated mark in the East.

The Warriors and Heat are trying to crash parties of their respective conference’s elite. If Thompson and Bosh maintain their current rates of play, there’s every reason to believe both teams will emerge as legitimate contenders – with both stars perhaps even garnering MVP consideration in the process.

It’s early yet, but Thompson and Bosh couldn’t have envisioned a better start to crucial 2014-2015 campaigns. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

What do you think?

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